Justin's movie blog, where it is all movies all the time. No politics or news, just movies.
// August 10th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Random Movie Musings
This is another film I am really looking forward to. Although I am not really a fan of Timur Bekmambetov or anything Tim Burton has done since ‘Big Fish,’ I still believe in this movie. I am a huge fan of animated films that are geared toward the older audience. They tend to be darker and more up my alley. Here’s to hoping that this movie is as good as the trailer makes it look.
// August 5th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Random Movie Musings
In case you have been living under a rock, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ comes out in October. So scoot out from under your rock a little bit and watch this awesome trailer. And enjoy the accompanying music by the Arcade Fire.
// July 15th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Great Moments in Film
Kaerlighed pa film
(Just Another Love Story)
This is a Dansih movie that is absolutely fantastic. I have written about it previously, so I won’t go into too much detail. I highly recommend it though. This scene is one of the most jarring scenes I have ever seen. It may not be now because it’s not in the context of the movie and you are expecting it, but trust me. It is. There is a really awesome scene just before this scene as well, but it felt awkward when I included it so I didn’t. But I threw that sentence in there because I can’t just ignore it all together. Watch this amazingness.
// July 6th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Great Moments in Film
Lat Den Ratte Kommen In
(Let The Right One In)
This is a swedish “vampire” film that is quite remarkable. If you want to know what I think of this movie than read my official post on the blog that I share with Chris. We do a weekly film symposium and this was the movie we just did. Click here to read my thoughts.
Awhile back on my other blog, not the one with chris, Bryan asked me what great directing looks like to me. I don’t remember if that is that exact wording, but this scene is the epitome of great directing. This is what great directing looks like. It was great to finally see these little shits get what was coming to them. Turn up the sound, it adds quite a bit.
// June 25th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Great Moments in Film
This is the opening scene from Michael Clayton. This monologue delivered by the amazing Tom Wilkinson is one of the finest pieces of acting you are ever likely to see….or hear. This guy doesn’t even need to be on the screen to amaze you. If this doesn’t pull you into the movie then just turn it off there, because there is obviously no helping you. It’s a shame he had to give this performance the same year as Javier Bardem’s ‘Chigurh,’ because this performance definitely deserved an oscar. Also, some kudos definitely goes to the music people. The use of music in this scene is incredible. I love how it builds with the dialogue. The climax is brilliant (that’s what she said.) Watch this, and be schooled on brilliant acting looks like…or sounds like.
// June 20th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Great Moments in Film
If you have to ask who is better, Jet Li or Jackie Chan, than you haven’t seen a Jet Li movie. Jet Li is a better martial artist, better actor, and is in better movies. For me, there is no competition. Hero, Fearless, and Unleashed are all better than anything Jackie Chan has done. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Jackie Chan. But if you want to see a good martial arts movie that actually has a good story, pick up one of the aforementioned Jet Li films.
This scene is from Jet Li’s Fearless. Fearless is a true story about Huo Yuan Jia, one of the most respected Chinese masters in their history, and the founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. This scene takes place after one of his students is badly wounded by his nemesis Mister Chin. This isn’t necessarily the best “fight scene” in the movie, but it is my favorite. I guess the best is highly debatable, considering that they are all amazing. Anyway, check this scene out. I love it.
// June 17th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Great Moments in Film
I am starting this new series called ‘Great Moments in Film,’ to share some of my favorite scenes, and what I feel are great scenes. Obviously there are great scenes that, taken out of conext, don’t have the same meaning. So, I will try to avoid those and will try to pick clips that can stand alone and be appreciated by themselves. So without further ado, here is Great Moments in Film #1.
This scene comes from the movie ‘Chicago.’ This was another movie that I absolutely hated the first time around. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it won best picture over Lord of the Rings, which, to this day is completely absurd, but it is what it is. This is my favorite song from the movie. It’s called ‘Mr. Cellophane’ and is performed by the great John C. Reilly. This scene is absolutely amazing and couldn’t have been done better by anyone else. The acting, directing, editing, and lighting are all absolutely stunning. Here it is.
// June 9th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // 100 movies
The chances of this movie ever losing its number one spot are slim to none. There are a couple reasons for this. First, probably no movie will ever affect me as greatly as this movie did the first time that I saw it. This was the first movie that I ever watched twice in a row. I saw it back in 2000 at Stacey’s house. We watched it and it absolutely floored me. Then we decided to go get slurpees, when we got back I wanted to watch it again, so we did. Secondly, this was the film that got me heavily into film. I had no idea that film could be such a powerful form of expression. I thought movies were nothing more than forms of entertainment. Whereas I agree that they should be enjoyed as entertainment, there is also nothing wrong with them being more than that. Everytime I watch this movie it makes me want to be a better person. Seriously. It puts everything into perspective. It makes me realize how trivial things are and how they don’t matter in the big scheme of things. Somebody at work doesn’t like you, or drama at school, or a test on friday. None of these things really matter. That may sound a little strange in such a condensed format, but that’s what I believe. I already wrote an amazing ten page paper on this movie for my final in my film class so I don’t really want to hash it out all over again. I got an A on that paper by the way. Thirdly, it’s morals and themes and metaphors run so deeply it is impossible to get into it in a blog post. This movie is insanely powerful, insanely moving, ridiculously entertaining, and makes me want to be a better me. What more can you ask for?
This movie contains so many of my personal favorite quotes and monologues, but this particular one strikes a chord that nothing else in a movie has ever struck before or since. It goes like so, “…but it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I am seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fill up like a balloon that’s about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life…”
This is one of my all time favorite scenes that contains one of my all time favorite monologues by one of my all time favorite characters. This scene is beyond words. I only found it once on youtube and the embedding was disabled so what did I do? Did I settle for less? Nope. I extracted this clip from my dvd and uploaded it on youtube. I am so the man. Enjoy. #1. Best movie ever. And great clip provided by me.
// June 7th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // 100 movies
This movie is the ultimate story of redemption, and it feels that need in me for revenge when there is injustice. Most movies that are made out of Stephen King novels or novellas are usually terrible, but this happens to be one of the few exceptions. Not only is this movie nothing short of brilliant, but it is ten times better than the book. Just like how Kubrick greatly improved the shining, Frank Darabont did the same with this and the Green Mile. The movie is so superbly done it has managed to find its way to being the #1 ranked movie on imdb.com and the AFI ranked it as the #72 greatest movie of all time. Even though you can’t trust imdb rankings more than you can trust your dogs opinion, it still speaks volumes that it is the highest ranked. Casting Morgan Freeman as Red was one of the most brilliant things they did for the movie (he is a white Irish guy in the book.) Somehow this managed to not win a single Oscar, which is one of the greatest snubs of all time. Granted it did come out the same year as Forrest Gump, so that makes it a little more understandable. Silly side note; in Taiwan this movie was released as “1995: Fantastic.” Yeah, I don’t know. “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.” #2. Enjoy.
// June 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // 100 movies
This is probably the most heart wrenching movie I have ever seen. From start to finish this movie is nothing but pure emotion. It’s quite difficult to explain the premise of this movie so we will just say that it’s about the intertwining of about ten people’s lives. Like I have previously stated, think ‘Crash,’ but better and without the racism. Crash took the formula straight from ‘Magnolia,’ but I guess you could say that ‘Magnolia’ took the formula from an early nineties film called ‘Short Cuts.’ The difference being that both Crash and Magnolia are five times the film Short Cuts could ever hope to be. Anyway, back on topic, this movie is nearly three hours in length but is one of the quickest paced films I have ever seen. It barely feels like an hour and a half because of all the stories and all of the emotion that you will invest into each and every character.
I saw this film for the first time back in 2001 at Stacey’s house. I was sitting in her Moses chair and she was sitting on her bed. When the movie ended I said of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance, “If this guy gets a leading role, I guarantee that he will win best actor in the next five years.” Five years later he did exactly that. I am awesome. This movie contains amazing performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Phillip Baker Hall, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and the best performance Tom Cruise has ever delivered. Tom Cruise actually plays a character in this movie instead of just being Tom Cruise. Most people really like this movie until the ending. That seems to be where people start to have a problem, and mainlyl because they don’t understand it. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense on the surface, but if you look a little deeper, it’s there and it’s amazing. This clip is amazing, but I think it is more amazing in context. In context this is one of the most powerful scenes you are ever likely to see. I promise you that. This is toward the end of the film when every single character has absolutely reached their breaking point. The events that are happening in these people’s lives that have lead them here are absolutely insane. Crash even directly borrowed this musical montage method. Oh well. I love both movies. #3. Enjoy.
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